ArcelorMittal and SolarWall®; A Path to Achieving Europe’s 2020 Energy Targets

Paris, France: January 28, 2014 – ArcelorMittal, one of the world’s largest steel companies announced today that it will be working with Conserval Engineering, the world leader in Solar Air Heating to promote their SolarWall® technology in Europe. Under this agreement, the SolarWall technology will be manufactured by ArcelorMittal Construction in France at Haironville, for SolarWall Europe sarl. Both companies will promote the SolarWall technology as a cost-effective solar system that offers a meaningful solution for meeting Europe’s 2020 Energy Targets.

The SolarWall System is a building integrated solar air heating system that utilizes solar radiation to deliver naturally warmed fresh air into buildings, providing a renewable heat source. Installed as an additional skin to a building to create an air cavity, the SolarWall technology consists of a pre-coated steel collector with thousands of carefully engineered perforations spread across its surface to collect the heated air. As sunlight strikes the surface of the steel skin, the energy is absorbed, heating the surface and creating a thermal boundary layer. In turn, this layer of heated air which lines the face of the collector is drawn through the perforations and into the building’s ventilation system.

The SolarWall technology is a highly effective solar air heating system that displaces up to 50% of a building’s space heating expense. The SolarWall technology established the global standard for solar air heating and is in use around the world on thousands of commercial, industrial and agricultural buildings. The SolarWall® systems are unique in that they are all-steel, building-integrated & site-built using local labour. In addition, they require virtually no maintenance over their 30+ year lifespan.

The European Union is committed to a 20% renewable energy target by 2020. Space heating represents up to half of a building’s energy demand but the lack of viable clean technologies that address the huge quantities of energy required for space or process heating continues to be a challenge to attaining the 2020 targets.

A major breakthrough in regulatory changes within the EU has now opened the doors for widespread usage of solar air technologies such as SolarWall. Furthermore, other European Norms such as EN13339 which stipulate the mandatory fresh air ventilation requirements for buildings have been put in place to address tighter building envelopes. These changes fit well with the SolarWall technology’s ability to heat large volumes of fresh air.

ArcelorMittal Construction’s CEO, Jean Christoph Kennel, states: “With increased pressure on private and public buildings to become more proficient environmentally, there is a trend towards highly efficient, holistic heating solutions which can be combined with established renewable technologies driving towards energy efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. The SolarWall technology provides a new solution for the commercial and industrial and tertiary sector to cost-effectively reduce both their operating costs and their CO2 emissions”.

John Hollick, CEO of the SolarWall Group of companies, states: “We are very excited to be partnering with ArcelorMittal, Europe’s leader in metal buildings and to be able to offer our low cost SolarWall technology as a solution for Europe to meet its 20% renewable energy target by 2020.”

About Conserval

The SolarWall® technology was developed by Conserval Engineering, who commercialized solar air heating around the world. SolarWall® systems are available in various configurations and offer large-scale energy reductions by heating the ventilation air required in commercial, industrial and institutional applications. This translates into substantial life-cycle cost savings and corresponding GHG emissions reductions. SolarWall® systems also generate up to 10 LEED® points and can also be combined with photovoltaic (PV) panels to create a hybrid system generating both heat & electricity. The SolarWall® technology has received commendation from both the U.S. Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada, and has been used in 33+ countries around the world by private and public sector organizations like the U.S. Army, Canadian Government, NASA, Ford, FedEx, Auchan, Owens Corning, Toyota, Pro-Logis and 3M. Conserval has offices in Toronto-Canada, Paris-France, and Buffalo-NY and a distribution channel in 25 countries. Additional information is available at www.solarwall.com

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world’s leading steel and mining company, with a presence in more than 60 countries and an industrial footprint in over 20 countries. Guided by a philosophy to produce safe, sustainable steel, we are the leading supplier of quality steel in the major global steel markets including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with world-class research and development and outstanding distribution networks.

Through our core values of sustainability, quality and leadership, we operate responsibly with respect to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, contractors and the communities in which we operate.

For us, steel is the fabric of life, as it is at the heart of the modern world from railways to cars and washing machines. We are actively researching and producing steel-based technologies and solutions that make many of the products and components we use in our everyday lives more energy-efficient.

We are one of the world’s five largest producers of iron ore and metallurgical coal and our mining business is an essential part of our growth strategy. With a geographically diversified portfolio of iron ore and coal assets, we are strategically positioned to serve our network of steel plants and the external global market. While our steel operations are important customers, our supply to the external market is increasing as we grow.

In 2012, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $84.2 billion and crude steel production of 88.2 million tonnes, while iron ore production reached 55.9 million tonnes.
ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS). www.arcelormittal.com/arval